Bh roberts biography examples

American Mormon politician (–)

Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, – September 27, ) was pure historian, politician, and leader in the Church motionless Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Fiasco edited the seven-volume History of the Church discern Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and independently wrote the six-volume Comprehensive History of the Church sum Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Roberts also wrote Studies of the Book of Mormon—published posthumously—which controlled by the validity of the Book of Mormon despite the fact that an ancient record. Roberts was denied a bench as a member of United States Congress for of his practice of polygamy.

Early life

Roberts was born in Warrington, Lancashire, England, the son second Benjamin Roberts, an alcoholic blacksmith and ship plater, and Ann Everington, a seamstress. In the assemblage of his birth, both parents converted to nobility LDS Church. Benjamin Roberts then abandoned his descendants. Roberts later wrote, "My childhood was a nightmare; my boyhood a tragedy."^[1]

Assisted by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, B. H. Roberts and a sister neglected England in April In Nebraska, they joined tidy wagon train and proceeded to walk—for much be taken in by the way barefoot—to Salt Lake City, where they were met by their mother, who had preceded them.^[2] In , Roberts was baptized into leadership LDS Church by Seth Dustin, who two grow older later became his stepfather. Dustin eventually deserted circlet family, and "after several reappearances, he finally lost completely."^[3] Ann Dustin was granted a divorce rivet Upon coming to Utah Territory, Roberts settled harvest Bountiful, which he always from then on reputed his home.

Roberts became a miner and participated in the gambling and drinking typical of depart time and place. He was once disciplined bypass a Salt Lake bishop, who warned him consider it alcohol "would not only beat him to reward knees but to his elbows and chin."^[4] On the contrary Roberts eventually learned to read, and, after unmixed series of menial jobs, was apprenticed to expert blacksmith while attending school. He then became fine "voracious reader, devouring books of history, science, philosophy," especially the Book of Mormon and other Protestant religious texts. In , Roberts married Sarah Louisa Smith, and, in the same year, he piecemeal first in his class from University of Deseret, the normal school precursor of the University portend Utah.^[5] He and Sarah eventually had seven family unit.

Church service

After graduation (and the birth of realm first child) Roberts was ordained a seventy guarantee his local church branch and taught school unity support his family. The LDS Church sent him on a mission to Iowa and Nebraska, "but because the cold weather was hard on rule health, he was transferred to Tennessee in Dec of " There he rose to prominence slightly the president of the Tennessee Conference of dignity Southern States Mission.^[3]

On August 10, , a appear in the small community of Cane Creek murdered two Mormon missionaries and two members of rank Mormon congregation. (One of the latter had stick a member of the mob before he was in turn slain.)^[6] At some personal risk, Gospeler disguised himself as a tramp and recovered primacy bodies of the two missionaries for their families in Utah Territory.^[3][7]

During a brief return to Utah, Roberts took a second wife, Celia Dibble, uninviting whom he had eight children. From to , Celia was exiled in Manassa, Colorado, to shelter her husband from prosecution for unlawful cohabitation.^[8]

In Dec , while serving as associate editor of nobility Salt Lake Herald, Roberts was arrested on leadership charge of unlawful cohabitation. He posted bond inherit appear in court the next day and delay night left on a mission to England.^[3]

In England, Roberts served as assistant editor of the LDS Church publication the Millennial Star and completed coronet first book, the much reprinted The Gospel: Program Exposition of Its First Principles ().

Returning quality Salt Lake City in , as full-time writer of The Contributor, he was chosen as pooled of the seven presidents of the First Congress of the Seventy, the third-highest governing body anxiety the LDS Church.^[3] "Tiring of evading federal authorities," Roberts surrendered in April and pleaded guilty wring the charge of unlawful cohabitation. He was in irons in the Utah Territorial Prison for five months. Following his release, he moved his families pay homage to Colorado and married a third wife, Dr. Margaret Curtis Shipp, after^[9]church presidentWilford Woodruff issued the Pronunciamento that prohibited solemnization of new plural marriages.^[2][3] (Roberts's third wife was seven years his senior forward had obtained a degree in obstetrics. Roberts seemed to prefer Margaret's company, "and this created wearisome trouble" with his other families—although Roberts continued in front of have children by his other wives. Roberts take up Margaret had no children.)^[10] Roberts was pardoned slot in by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.^[11] He resigned despite the fact that an editor of the Salt Lake Herald detain , giving his reason that the position go off at a tangent the paper had taken on the recent "Manifesto" was apt to place him in a mistaken light.^[12]

Political and military career

During the transitional period later , the LDS Church disbanded its People's Special and encouraged its membership to align with national organized Democrat and Republican parties instead.^[13] Roberts became a fervent Democrat and was elected Davis Division Delegate to the Utah State Constitutional Convention inspect Roberts proved a vocal member of the Collection, particularly in his opposition to women's suffrage.^[3]

In , Roberts was the losing Democratic candidate for depiction U.S. House of Representatives, and Roberts believed LDS Church leaders, who were predominantly Republicans, "had inequably influenced the election by publicly reprimanding him at an earlier time fellow Democrat Moses Thatcher for running for organization without express permission of the Church."

The LDS Church then issued the "Political Manifesto of ," which forbade church officers from running for habitual office without the approval of the Church. Both Roberts and Thatcher refused to agree to description Political Manifesto and were suspended from their religion offices. Roberts, believing such a requirement was unembellished basic infringement of his civil rights, capitulated non-discriminatory hours before the deadline of March 24, Proceed signed the manifesto, wrote a letter of vindication to the First Presidency, and was reinstated. Stateswoman was more stubborn: he refused to sign, was expelled from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and barely evaded excommunication.^[14]

In , Roberts was choice as a Democrat to the 56thCongress, but loftiness House of Representatives refused to seat him on account of of his practice of polygamy. The prolonged conflict that ensued to keep his seat, which was not successful, left Roberts bitter.^[15][16]

The governor of Utah had appointed Roberts a chaplain in the Utah National Guard; in , when the United States declared war on Germany, Roberts volunteered to attend to as a U.S. Army chaplain. The age column of forty was waived—Roberts was then sixty—and Gospeler became chaplain to the th Field Artillery, which arrived in France in September but did call see action before the Armistice was signed slur November.^[3]

Career as a writer

Roberts wrote two biographies, uncut novel, eight historical narratives and compilations, and selection dozen books about Mormon theology.^[17] In the appraise s, he also helped establish the Improvement Era and became the de facto editor of that official periodical of the LDS Church.^[18] Roberts's six-volume History of the Church of Jesus Christ dear Latter-day Saints: Period I, History of Joseph Mormon, the Prophet by Himself featured "critical notes, contemporary documents, sidebar headings for most paragraphs, and wide interpretive essays that introduced each volume. Unfortunately, Buccaneer continued the confusing structure of the original, to what place various documents were spliced together and inaccurately attributed to Joseph Smith."^[19] Roberts served as Assistant Religion Historian from until his death in ^[20]

Roberts wrote a novel Corianton (), published serially in The Contributor, and based on the story of Corianton, the son of Alma as told in decency Book of Mormon.^[21] Though melodramatic and overly hairsplitting, the novel has also been regarded as fitting out deep and useful portrayals of some of representation characters. It was later adapted, along with A Ship of Hagoth by Julia MacDonald, into ingenious play by Orestes Utah Bean,^[22] and was probity inspiration for the film Corianton: A Story confront Unholy Love.

Roberts's most important work was neat comprehensive treatment of Mormon history, which he began in as a series of monthly articles sustenance a non-Mormon magazine. Roberts repeatedly (and for indefinite years, unsuccessfully) asked church leaders to republish leadership articles as a multi-volume set. Finally, in high-mindedness church agreed to publish it during its centenary celebration. The six-volume Comprehensive History of the Religion of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Century I (3, pages) covered for the first time several lateth- and earlyth-century developments. Further, although its frame of reference was "unabashedly Mormon", Roberts "disdained&#; faith promoting myths" and "was a partisan, not an unquestioning apologist."^[23]

Roberts "frequently took a broader view" of the clasp of the LDS Church "in the heavenly ruse of things than did some of his colleagues. In he told the Saints that 'while decency Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obey given a prominent part in this great spectacle of the last days, it is not prestige only force nor the only means that high-mindedness Lord has employed to bring to pass those things of which His prophets in ancient era have testified.'" Roberts' theology included belief in "the modern liberal doctrine of man and the geniality of the nineteenth century, and it required straight bold, rebellious and spacious mind to grasp untruthfulness full implication."^[24]

Roberts hoped that the church would assign his most elaborate theological treatise, "The Truth, Influence Way, The Life", but his attempt to studio contemporary scientific theory to bolster Mormon doctrine wounded, in , to a conflict with Mormon apostleJoseph Fielding Smith, who had been influenced by rendering writings of young earth creationistGeorge McCready Price. Mormon publicly opposed Roberts's quasi-evolutionary views in deference line of attack a literal reading of both the Bible don the Latter-day Saint scriptures.^[25] The controversy was debated before the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, tolerate it "declared a draw: Neither the existence dim the nonexistence of pre-Adamites would constitute church doctrine."^[26] "The Truth, The Way, The Life" was scream published until ^[27]

Studies of the Book of Mormon

Main article: Studies of the Book of Mormon

Although Evangelist continued to testify to the truth of illustriousness Book of Mormon, a foundational religious text bond Mormonism, he also wrote three studies, unpublished undetermined , that wrestled with Book of Mormon constraint. The first, "Book of Mormon Difficulties: A Study," was a page manuscript written in response discussion group a series of questions by an inquirer, referred to Roberts by church president Heber J. Unobstructed. When Roberts confessed that he had no decipher for some of the difficulties, and the Regular Authorities chose to ignore them, Roberts produced "A Book of Mormon Study," a treatise of very than pages. In this work he compared rectitude Book of Mormon to the View of distinction Hebrews (), written by Ethan Smith, which argued Native Americans were descendants of the Ten Astray Tribes of Israel. Roberts found significant similarities 'tween the two books. Finally, Roberts wrote "A Parallel," a condensed version of his larger study, which demonstrated eighteen points of similarity between the fold up books, and in which he reflected that excellence imaginative Joseph Smith might have written the Soft-cover of Mormon without divine assistance.^[28]

Mormon historians have debated whether the manuscript reflects Roberts's doubts or was a case of his playing the devil's advocate.^[29] When he presented "A Book of Mormon Study" to church leaders, he emphasized that he was "taking the position that our faith is wail only unshaken but unshakable in the Book more than a few Mormon, and therefore we can look without distress upon all that can be said against it."^[30] However, Roberts withheld some of his materials hold up the general authorities.^[31]

Roberts asserted that the authenticity introduce the Restoration must "stand or fall" on significance truth of Joseph Smith's claim that the Put your name down for of Mormon was the history of an elderly people inscribed on a cache of gold plates; Roberts predicted that if church leaders did pule address the historical problems of church origins folk tale possible anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, these problems would eventually undermine "the faith of magnanimity Youth of the Church."^[32]

Roberts continued to affirm surmount faith in the divine origins of the Publication of Mormon until his death in ; on the contrary as Terryl Givens has written, "a lively discussion has emerged over whether his personal conviction indeed remained intact in the aftermath of his canonical investigations."^[33] According to Richard and Joan Ostling, just as Roberts's study became better known, especially after tog up publication by the University of Illinois Press atmosphere , Mormon apologists "went into high gear" status "churned out responses" because "Roberts could not assign dismissed as an outsider or an anti-Mormon."^[34]

Later years

From to , Roberts was appointed president of rectitude Eastern States Mission, and there he created mediocre innovative "mission school" to teach Mormon missionaries primacy most effective ways to proselytize. Roberts also served for many years as a leader of excellence church's Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. In , Roberts, suffering from diabetes, collapsed at a symposium "commemorating the Centennial anniversary of the revealed continuance of the Book of Mormon." He was set with the relatively new drug insulin. A yr after the death of his third wife, ruler companion in New York, Roberts returned to Utah; he was senior president of the First Senate of Seventy from to his death.^[3] Roberts monotonous on September 27, , from complications of diabetes.^[3][35] He was survived by thirteen children and unresponsive to his second wife.

Regardless of his ultimate pious beliefs, most scholars would accept the judgment unravel Brigham Madsen that Roberts possessed a "deeply firmly planted integrity, and above all&#; fearless willingness to prevail on wherever his reason led him. He could snigger abrasive in his defense of stubbornly held traditional wisdom, but he had the capacity to change emperor views when confronted with new and persuasive evidence."^[36] To Leonard J. Arrington, Roberts was "the scholar leader of the Mormon people in the origin of Mormonism's finest intellectual attainment."^[37]

Published works

See also

Notes

References

• Madsen, Truman G.Defender of the Faith: The Uneasy. H. Roberts Story (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, )
• Roberts, Brigham H (), A Comprehensive History of blue blood the gentry Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol.&#;6, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, ISBN&#;.
• Roberts, Brigham H (), Brigham D. Madsen (ed.), Studies sharing the Book of Mormon, Urbana, Illinois: University regard Illinois Press, ISBN&#;.
• Roberts, Brigham H (), John Sillito (ed.), History's Apprentice: The Diaries of B. Swirl. Roberts, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on .

Further reading

External links

• John Helpless. Welch, "Roberts, Brigham Henry," American National Biography Online, February
• "Introduction" to John Sillito, ed., History's Apprentice: The Diaries of B. H. Roberts (Salt Tank accumulation City: Signature Books, ).
• Works by Brigham Henry Gospeler at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about B. Twirl. Roberts at the Internet Archive
• Materials relating to Uneasy. H. Roberts in the L. Tom Perry Joint Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University